Saturday, April 23, 2011

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

From one of my favorite design sites, Apartment Therapy. This person wrote in to find out where he can sell his vintage autopsy table. My first question... why would you want to part with such a thing? My second question... can I have it?

(The above photo is not of the table in question. It's a shot from the early 1900s that now resides in the Library of Congress and can be found here.)

Monday, November 15, 2010

Sunday, November 14, 2010

Sometimes even I am amazed at what products end up reaching the marketplace. Case in point... Pornkins. They are porn-themed pumpkin carving stencils for all your naughty pumpkin needs. Is there really a market for this? People buy them?

(WARNING: You can clickhereto see the other Pornkins stencils, but I'm warning you that they are VERY graphic and VERY NSFW! Way more graphic than the example I've shown here. This one is downright Disney compared to a couple of them. I think I'll go wash my eyes out with soap...)

Monday, November 8, 2010

Since this blog began, some of the most popular posting have involved nudity. Well, as a gift to you, I'm going to fill the rest of this week with Halloween-style nakedness.
Before we move forward though, let us first look back.
Here are some naked postings from the past...

***Ok, they're not really naked. Some are just topless while others are downright covered. They all fall within the general theme of exposed skin though. And it sounds much better to call it "Naked Week" rather than "Sometimes Naked, But Occasionally Covered Week".

Sunday, November 7, 2010

Today is the one year anniversary of a man in Brazil attending his own funeral. From CNN.com...
"On the holiday known as the Day of the Dead, a Brazilian bricklayer walked into his own funeral.
The sight of Ademir Jorge Goncalves alive shocked relatives, some of whom tried to jump out of the windows of the funeral home in southern Brazil.
"In my 10 years in this business, I have never witnessed a scene like this," said Natanael Honorato, manager of the funeral home in the Parana state.
On November 1, some family members and friends had identified the victim of a car crash as the 59-year-old Goncalves.
They scheduled his funeral for the following day, Dia de Finados, a holiday when Brazilians remember loved ones who have died.
What Goncalves' family did not know is that he had spent the night drinking at a bar near the site of the crash, but he was not the victim.
When the bricklayer got word of his funeral, he showed up at the Funeraria Rainha das Colinas funeral home Monday morning.
Later that day, the mystery was solved when a family in a neighboring town came inquiring about a son who was missing.
The family recognized the body -- and took it away for burial."

Saturday, November 6, 2010

I love this design by artist Brandon Dunlap. Sadly, it looks like the pillows are no longer available. Fortunately, you can still buy it as a painting, t-shirt or tote bag. (And who doesn't need a tote bag emblazon with an image of a kitten playing with a skull?)

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

I've discovered that no one in Bolivia has ever read my blog. (Probably because they don't celebrate Halloween there.) They do however celebrate El Dia de los Muertos and Todos los Santos, which is sort of Halloween-y. So in the interest of attracting some new Bolivian readers, I present today's post. (Feel free to pass it along to all your Bolivian friends.)

"Originally, the locals used to take their dead out of their graves and share a day with them. The gruesome part is that in the past the dead used to be dug out of their graves; nowadays only the skulls are used. Obviously lacking a nose, the skulls are affectionately called "ñatitas" (short nosed). If a skull is not available, a family's member dresses up as the dead and enacts him during the day, talking with the family about the last year and giving counseling." (For more information on this Bolivian holiday, click here).

Monday, November 1, 2010

I wish I lived in this guy's home. He's got an amazing collection of Haunted Mansion memorabilia, Psycho movie props, Don Post masks, Universal Studios monster masks, and "general creepy and spooky items, including a functioning guillotine that he's all too eager to demonstrate if you bring along a cantaloup".

Sunday, October 31, 2010

About a year ago I posted a survey to learn how different people celebrate Halloween. Well, the results are in. Here's what I found...

You (the average Halloween-enthusiast) don't have any trick-or-treating aged children living in your home (60%), but you still decorate the inside (41%) for the enjoyment of yourself and your family (65%). Your interior decorations (63%) and your outdoor decorations (23%) remain up for approximately one month. You also display certain decorative items year round that you don't consider "Halloween-y", but admit that the average American probably would (81%).
You're slightly more likely to let the public walk through your yard haunt (52%) than have to admire it from behind a barrier (48%). Your mostly homemade (48%) outdoor decorations are durable enough to be left out in the wind and rain (83%) and luckily, none have ever been stolen (77%). You're far more likely to have a "scary" display (36%) than a "cute" (4%) or "gory/bloody" display (7%).
You spend between $100 and $400 on your decorations each year (47%). Your cobwebs are made out of a cotton-like material (48%), you have a fog machine running (75%) and spooky music playing (80%). You do not, however, use fake blood (60%), a simulated thunder & lightning machine (56%), live costumed actors (60%) or pneumatic props (77%). And, for that matter, you've also never been to a Halloween / haunt / horror convention (65%) and don't subscribe to any such magazines either (69%).
If Halloween falls on a weekday, you take the day off from work (71%). Horror movies are your favorite (50%) and you dress up for Halloween (80%).
Unfortunately, despite all of your hard work, fewer than twenty-five trick or treaters come to your door (29%).

***Here are a few more interesting results worth noting...
21% of you leave your interior Halloween decorations up year-round.
17% only have your outdoor decorations up for one night.
6% of you get between 500 and 1000 trick-or-treaters,
and 3% of you get over 1000 people ringing your bell!

(I'll probably be releasing a new, more detailed survey sometime after Halloween. Let me know if you have ideas for additional questions.)